The Voice of the Martyrs' blog, sharing powerful stories and timely information that invites and inspires American Christians into fellowship with their persecuted family around the world.

July 13, 2015

Most American Christians think persecution is something that happens only in far-off places. Many don’t realize that Christians in Mexico—right next door—can face persecution. In Chiapas, Zapatista rebels pressure those who choose to follow Jesus to renounce their faith in Christ and return to the traditional religion and superstitions of the area. Christians are kicked out of their homes and villages, left with nothing. “Ivan” oversees VOM’s ministry to these bold believers, and this week he shares about meeting with them and how God continues to work in spite of the persecution they face.

July 10, 2015

Last summer VOM asked our readers to send a letter to Kim Jong Un, the brutal dictator of The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Not just any letter, either, but a letter of confession. Each letter began with the words, “I am a Christian.”

It seems such a simple declaration to those of us who live in free nations. I am a Christian.

But it isn’t a simple thing for our brothers and sisters in North Korea. For them, “I am a Christian,” means “I am going to a concentration camp,” or “I am going to be executed.”

The letter VOM created was based on letters that North Korean Christians, as well as foreign Christians arrested in North Korea, have been forced to sign. But the VOM version finishes with a different confession from those DPRK-approved letters: a confession that the signatory will pray for North Korea, and for Kim Jong Un personally.

More than 93,000 people from 150+ nations signed the letter, and in recent weeks VOM staff have delivered those signatures, as promised, to the North Korean delegation to the United Nations.

That delivery took place in two stages. The first was an in-person delivery directly to the offices of The Permanent Mission of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York City. Because of the logistical and security challenges of getting 25+ boxes into a high-security building in New York City, our first step was to deliver a digital collection of those 93,000+ names of people praying for North Korea.

When our VOM team arrived at the building and checked in at the security desk, one of the guards said, “It’s better to make an appointment with [the North Korean office].” He called up to tell the North Koreans they had visitors.

Ten or 12 minutes later a gentleman from North Korea came out of the elevator and into the lobby. He introduced himself. We shook hands. He didn’t invite us up to his office, so I presented him with an envelope right there in the lobby, with security watching and other building workers coming and going.

It wasn’t a long conversation. I told him that we’d come from Oklahoma on behalf of Christians across America and around the world who were praying for North Korea and were concerned about the treatment of Christians there. I handed him an envelope containing a copy of the Letter of Confession, a brief explanation of it, and a disk containing 93,000+ scanned letters and online signature names from all over the world (signors’ addresses were NOT shared).

He said that he would review the documents and gave me his card. The whole conversation took less than five minutes. He walked back into the secure area and got on the elevator. We walked out onto the busy New York sidewalk. I silently prayed that God would somehow use those signatures and our brief conversation to bless our brothers and sisters in North Korea.

I emailed him a thank you after we returned to Oklahoma; so far he hasn’t responded.

The in-person delivery of the digitized letters and names was the first part of our delivery plan. After all, an envelope, a letter and a CD are easy to ignore or even just toss in the trash. Part two of our plan was the actual printed and signed letters—more than 93,000 of them.

Getting 30 boxes of anything from a warehouse in Oklahoma to a 13th-floor office in the heart of Manhattan is not an easy task. So for this stage of the delivery we called in the experts: UPS. Each box was carefully packed and sealed by our Operations team in Bartlesville. Each was weighed and labeled and ready for UPS pick-up. Because we wanted a way to show that the North Koreans had actually received the letters, we asked for signature from the recipient.

And we prayed, again, that somehow God would get these heavy boxes to New York and into the hands of someone who would care. Someone on whom the fact of 93,000 Christians praying for his or her country might make an impact. Might even plant a seed of Truth into their heart and mind.

Those boxes were delivered this week. They were signed for by a Mr. Kwon.

Thank you to all those who signed a “Letter of Confession” for North Korea. While this Letter of Confession effort by The Voice of the Martyrs is now over, the suffering of our brothers and sisters in North Korea is not. The need for our faithful and passionate prayer for them and their nation is as important now as it has ever been.

The book of Daniel tells us the story of a ruler who held himself up as God and demanded his subjects worship him, just as Kim Jong Un demands today in North Korea. We know the end of the story for those rulers: every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess who the real God is (Rom. 14:11).

Daniel also tells us the story of those who steadfastly refused to deny their faith in the True God. In spite of pressure. In spite of threats of death.

There are people like Daniel and his friends in North Korea right now. They refuse to bow to their evil ruler. They refuse to pray to Kim Jong Un or the dead “eternal president,” Kim Il Sung. Instead they pray to Jesus Christ, knowing such prayers might cost them their earthly life.

I confess that I don’t know the challenges they face. I confess that I can’t imagine the hardships they endure. And I confess that I will pray for God to sustain and bless them; to strengthen them for each day of their journey.

I hope you’ll join in that prayer.

Todd Nettleton has served with The Voice of the Martyrs for 17 years. He’s travelled to more than 20 restricted and hostile nations and interviewed hundreds of believers who’ve faced persecution for their Christian witness. As VOM’s principle media spokesperson, Todd has done more than 2,000 interviews with media outlets ranging from Moody Radio to the BBC and Los Angeles Times. He is the principle author of Restricted Nations: North Korea and was part of the writing team for four other VOM books.

July 09, 2015

It is the fourth week of Ramadan, and Muslims around the world are fasting and praying. Muslims are required to cease eating and drinking from dawn until dusk. Only those who are traveling or who are sick are exempt from the requirement of fasting during this time.

Recently, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Islamic State militants tied up two young Syrian boys to a cross for eating during the time of religious fasting for Ramadan. Described as children under the age of 18, the two were suspended by their wrists from a pole shortly before noon and left there until evening. A placard on their chest declared that the two had eaten without “religious justification.”

My nine-year-old nephew is always voraciously hungry when he comes home from school. When his mom picks him up for a ten-minute ride, he often asks if she brought anything for him to drink or eat. There are times when dinner is nearly ready, but he just can’t wait and sneaks a snack. As punishment, he might get yelled at or even sent to his room. However, to tie him by the wrists to a pole and leave him there for hours is horrifying.

Many Syrians have been left without water for weeks. Prices have skyrocketed, and parents are not able to provide food or even basic medicine for their children. Shouldn’t malnourished children be exempt from the requirement of fasting?

Muslims who are seeing such horrors carried out are becoming increasingly disillusioned with Islam. Recently, Operation Mobilization’s "Julian" told VOM workers the story of a sheikh who got into a taxi and asked the driver if he knew where he could find a Bible. The sheikh, a Muslim leader, shared that he had been training soldiers in jihad in Syria, but he was tired of the killing and was now seeking a Bible. Fortunately, the taxi driver was a Christian and knew where they could find a Bible. Stories like this continue to pour out of the Arab world. Muslims are tired of the brutality and evil. They want peace.

For those of you who receive the monthly newsletter, you may have ordered the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World booklet. During the second week of prayer for Muslims, you read the story of Abdul-Ahad, a sheikh who approached an East African missionary in a Somali refugee camp. After sharing how he had committed heinous acts of violence, he cried, “I need relief from that.”

As you continue to pray for Muslims, remember the extremists who have violently harmed men, women, and children, killed people, and trained others to kill. I am praying that these radicals will be disillusioned by Islam and seek out peace and forgiveness.

“Ann Kay” is a writer for VOM. She learned about VOM five years ago when she read Tortured for Christ and began receiving the newsletter. She is passionate about reaching the world for Christ and sharing stories of the persecuted church.

July 08, 2015

The group of Pakistani Christian men knew the risks when they entered an Islamic festival where fanatical Muslim leaders preached jihad and attendees renewed their religious zeal.

Quietly, they initiated conversations about Jesus, who is considered a holy prophet in Islam. By the end of the evening, they had distributed several hundred flyers telling about Jesus Christ and had exchanged phone numbers with people who wanted to learn more.

These men are a few of the more than 30,000 front-line workers VOM supports. They are sharing the gospel in hostile and restricted nations at great risk. As they minister in these difficult places, they need our prayers. Will you commit to stand with them in prayer as they share Christ?

July 07, 2015

I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with my dear friend, Merv Knight, last week.

After chatting with Merv, I decided to take a break from my series on Sudan to share an amazing story with you.

I’ll share more updates and videos from Sudan next time. If you missed some of the earlier posts, you can find them here. But, for now, let me tell you a story that deepened my faith in the miracle-working God we serve.

Merv Knight is the co-founder of VOM Australia and has ministered to persecuted Christians for more than 46 years. When I have the opportunity to collect insights from Merv, my ears are wide open and my pen is usually busy scribbling notes!

This time, Merv shared about a Christian man who was called by God to distribute Bibles in a remote part of Vietnam, even though he knew that it was risky. He was certain that if he was found with a box of Bibles, he would be taken to prison and perhaps even tortured (This still happens today in Vietnam. Click here to learn more).

In spite of the risk involved, this brother knew that he had to answer the call. He prayed hard, and then summoned all of the courage he had. The only option for transportation was a public bus.

So, he boldly purchased a bus ticket for a 12-hour ride from Ho Chi Minh City to the inner regions of Vietnam and climbed on board with a box filled with Bibles. He knew there would be checkpoints along the way, but he hoped that somehow the guards would miss this box.

As he prayed and waited for the bus depart, he was surprised, and more than a bit worried, to see a uniformed police captain board the bus. The captain walked toward the Bible smuggler, and selected the seat next to him.

Strangely, the captain quickly settled in to a very deep sleep. But, just before the captain fell asleep, he gently rested his hat on top of the box of Bibles.

While the smuggler watched and waited, the captain slept. It wasn’t long before they reached the first checkpoint.

As the Christian expected, the guards boarded the bus and began checking the identification papers of each of the passengers. Then the guards asked the passengers to open their bags while they inspected the contents.

When the guards reached the Christian’s row on the bus, they glanced at the box, at the captain’s hat resting on top, and at the slumbering captain. Then, without a word, they quietly moved on to the next row.

Repeatedly during the next 10 hours, checkpoint after checkpoint, the police captain slumbered and the guards quietly moved by without ever checking the box.

This testimony reminded Merv of another brother who was searching for a lady with a reputation for having “great faith.”

He asked around her village, and when he finally found her, he asked, “Are you the lady with great faith?”

“No,” she replied, “I am the lady with the simple faith in a great God!”

What miracles does God have in store for us as we learn to “walk in faith” like this Bible smuggler?

Dr. Jason Petersoversees Global Partnerships and travels frequently to meet with our persecuted sisters and brothers. He has ministered in 39 countries, as diverse as Cuba, India, Sudan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Nigeria. Jason ministered as a military chaplain for more than 18 years, with assignments at the Pentagon, the US Air Force Academy and as a faculty member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, where he directed Crisis and Trauma training. Jason and his wife Kimberly lived overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.

July 06, 2015

The sheikh had just exited Syria, where he'd been providing Islamic theological training to ISIS fighters. Now, he was looking for a Bible. Not to burn it--but to learn more about Jesus Christ.

This Islamic teacher is not alone; God is working in the hearts of Muslims all over the Middle East--even the hearts of radical ISIS fighters trained to find glory in bloodshed. After years in the Middle East as a part of Operation Mobilization, "Julian" will share amazing true stories of God's Kingdom advancing among Arab Muslims. He'll also share how Christians are facing persecution, and being empowered by God to stand strong, and even to forgive those who kill their family members.

Celebrate with us the stories of God's advancing Kingdom this week on The Voice of the Martyrs Radio Network.

You can access every episode of VOM Radio online, find out which stations it airs on in your area, or sign up to download each episode as a podcast.

July 04, 2015

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

— 2 Chronicles 7:14

July 02, 2015

Each month VOM produces "The Jesus Freaks Minute," a daily radio-PSA that shares the stories of the persecuted church with Christian radio listeners all over the United States and around the world. Here's the script for one of the spots that will air next month, a spot entitled simply, Matthew.

[LYRICS:] What will people think when they hear that I’m a Jesus Freak? What will people do when they find that it’s true?

[TOBY MAC:] Hey, this is TobyMac with truth every Jesus Freak should hear from the Voice of the Martyrs.

[VOICE OVER:] We know the beginning of Matthew’s story. Chapter two of Mark’s gospel describes how Jesus notices Levi sitting at the tax collector’s booth. When Jesus says, “Follow me,” Levi — soon to be called Matthew — follows immediately. But do you know how his story ends? After writing the gospel bearing his name, Matthew travels to Ethiopia teaching and performing miracles with the king’s approval. But, in 66 AD, a heathen takes the throne. King Hytacus has Matthew arrested, nailed to the dirt, and beheaded. Another apostle who followed Jesus to the very end. For more from VOM, go online to persecution.com.

[YOUR TURN:] Did you know that history tells us that 11 of Jesus' 12 Apostles died a martyr's death? How does their example challenge you? Share in the comments to this post.

July 01, 2015

Valerie O., one of the college interns serving at VOM this summer, shares about her arrival at VOM and her growing understanding of the reach of VOM's work:

When people think of VOM, it’s hard to imagine what they might picture. There are so many facets to VOM, and depending on where you are, you might see something that someone else doesn’t. The average American Christian might just get the newsletter or read the website and that’s all they see. But a pastor in India who needs resources to help teach his congregation might see VOM as the partner that gets those resources to him. A widow in Syria whose husband was martyred for sharing Christ might see VOM as her and her children’s lifeline.

I didn’t even know the half of it when I applied for an internship with VOM.

There’s a gigantic, worldwide network of people who make up VOM that each do their part to work toward one goal: to assist the persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world. And it blows my mind to think that God has let me be part of this team this summer.

When I arrived at the Tulsa airport, I was nervous and excited. I knew some of what I would be doing, but not all of it. I would be in the Communications department, I would learn how VOM operated, I would do some sort of writing, I would get to shadow on the weekly radio show … and that was about as much as I knew.

Dory was the first VOM person I met in Oklahoma, she took time out of her Saturday to pick me up from the airport and make sure I got to the headquarters safely. I didn’t realize it then, (even after she told me her job title) but she would be one of the people I would be working under and learning from in the communications department. Just to clarify: my boss picked me up from the airport. This is not your average internship.

After she picked me up, she drove me to Bartlesville and, understanding I didn’t have a car to get around in this rural town, took me to the grocery store so I could buy groceries to start off with. My boss took me to the grocery store. I didn’t realize the significance of this simple gesture until several weeks later.

I learned on my second day that one of the projects I would be helping with is VOM’s Global Report. I didn’t know anything about the Global Report until they told me I would be helping with it. The Global Report is a booklet with detailed descriptions of all the Hostile and Restricted countries of the world. After I learned that, I thought: I get to help with that?! Dory asked me to draw on my previous design experience to give layout suggestions as well as to help research and write about these countries. All of the sudden, I was part of the team.

I also got to sit on two interviews that day (it was a big day). But both interviews were very different. The first was with a man from Nigeria who partners with VOM to provide prosthetics to people who have been maimed. He was very hard to understand and I had to ask the writer afterwards how he was able to understand him enough to effectively interview him. He told me he had just spent some time in Nigeria recently, so he was able to understand him a bit better than me, but it’s completely normal that I was having a hard time understanding him.

The second interview was a radio interview with an International Ministries (IM) worker who works in Latin America. He shared about what God is doing in Chiapas, Mexico and how VOM is helping displaced families there. That’s when it first hit me. VOM doesn’t just write stories about persecuted Christians and then say “Okay, see you later!” They actually help persecuted Christians with physical needs and spiritual needs.

I learn something new about VOM every day. Something new that VOM does for the persecuted family I’ve never much thought of before.

In Bartlesville, there’s an office and a warehouse that I and other people work in. These people look after the money, the public relations, the distribution of newsletters to American Christians and aid to persecuted Christians overseas, the content for VOM’s web site and newsletter, and many other areas that would take too long to list.

But beyond these walls, in other countries far away, are the “boots on the ground:” the VOM partners and the people we’re here to help: the persecuted. It is a gigantic network—and a gigantic family.

Valerie O. is a summer intern at The Voice of the Martyrs. This fall she will be a junior at California State University, Long Beach studying journalism. She first heard of VOM through a Bible study when someone handed her a VOM newsletter. Since then, she has felt drawn to VOM and its primary goal and has desired for God to use her skillset to help in reaching that goal.

June 30, 2015

In many European cathedrals, pulpits are placed high above the floor. Other churches use a glass or metal pulpit. Some churches use a music stand, or may not use any pulpit at all.

In my office, I have a simple wooden pulpit from a church in England given to me as a gift years ago. I display it to remind me of the primacy of scripture and of the specific calling God has given me as a minister.

I have also seen a wide variety of pulpits in use around the world. In grass huts, simple concrete buildings, or even while worshiping outside, ministers often use pulpits as they proclaim the good news about Jesus.

But the most stunning pulpit that I have ever seen was in Sudan’s Nuba mountains a few weeks ago.

This pulpit was from a church that was bombed by the Khartoum government. The church was destroyed, and shrapnel shredded the pulpit.

When I interviewed the pastor of this church, he shared that when their church building was bombed, his people fled to the mountains. Now many of them live in caves.

But one thing that they couldn’t bear to leave behind was the pulpit from their church building. Now it stands as a reminder to them, and to us, that the Church will never be destroyed.

We may have scars, to be sure, but “the gates of hell will not prevail” against Christ’s Church!

Watch this short video and celebrate with the church that uses a shrapnel-ridden pulpit each week as they worship under a thatched roof.

Next time you gather at your church, please remember to pray for our Sudanese sisters and brothers. May the pulpit at your church remind you that we are part of the larger community of believers around the world.

Dr. Jason Petersoversees Global Partnerships and travels frequently to meet with our persecuted sisters and brothers. He has ministered in 39 countries, as diverse as Cuba, India, Sudan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Nigeria. Jason ministered as a military chaplain for more than 18 years, with assignments at the Pentagon, the US Air Force Academy and as a faculty member of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, where he directed Crisis and Trauma training. Jason and his wife Kimberly lived overseas for several years, where two of their five children were born.